


Edelweiss

by LostMyHeartToHim



Series: Grindeldore one-shots [7]
Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Character Study, Flower Language, Gellert centric, M/M, Prophetic Visions, not gonna lie this is pretty pretentious
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-01-17
Packaged: 2019-10-11 17:46:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17451533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostMyHeartToHim/pseuds/LostMyHeartToHim
Summary: "Sometimes he dreams of a boy. This boy is beautiful, his hair the colour of autumn and his skin is as fair as an Edelweiß. His eyes - that resemble the pale blue of the Austrian sky - twinkle with hidden amusement. In his visions, the boy is always smiling, and Gellert Knows that the boy is smiling at him."





	Edelweiss

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back on my pretentious bs
> 
> I promise I'll write a new chapter of Nobody Else But Me this week, but I just couldn't help myself
> 
> Hope you enjoy it!

The first vision comes when he is a child. He doesn't remember it, but his mother tells him that he started screaming in the middle of the night. It had scared her, and she had run into the room ready to fight off whoever was attacking her _Liebling._

(Instead of a torturer, she had found her small child twisting in bed, his previously blue eyes forever changed; one black and one white. Trembling, his mother had sung to him until he fell back asleep.)

The Sight has followed him ever since.

* * *

Before he learns to control his gift, the visions come abruptly and without warning. They leave him shaken and unable to move. Sometimes he screams. People who witness them start to whisper about him when they think he cannot hear.

_The boy is mad - Have you seen his eyes? - Claims to be a Seer- Screaming in the classroom. - I pity his mother, the boy is obviously disturbed - Heard him raving about machines that could destroy entire cities -_

He clenches his hand. He is not mad. He is not. Everyone else is, living in their ignorance and paying no heed to the weapons and machines of destruction that Muggles have developed. Muggles could kill them all.

He has Seen it. And he won't let it come to pass.

* * *

His visions are seldom kind. Usually, they are filled with death and destruction and make his mouth taste of blood. When he finds out about Hallows, he is excited. _A way to control death?_ If he had them, he could stop it.

Stop all of it.

(Sometimes he dreams of a boy. This boy is beautiful, his hair the colour of autumn and his skin is as fair as an _Edelweiß_. His eyes - that resemble the pale blue of the Austrian sky - twinkle with hidden amusement. In his visions, the boy is always smiling, and Gellert Knows that the boy is smiling at him.

These are the visions he relishes.)

* * *

At Drumstrang, he is both feared and admired. He is more powerful than anyone else, which grants him immunity from their taunts. No one dares to make comments about his eyes or the way he grows still when he experiences a vision.

Those that do not avoid him out of fear or disgust, flock to him and listen intently to his ideas. He studies how to twist words to his advantage. He learns how to captivate his audience and make them believe everything he says. He discovers that partial truths are often better than outright lies. He uses his Sight to tempt others and make them obey his will.

Despite this, many still doubt his Gift and scorn him. But no one dares to say anything until his 5th year.

"You are a lunatic Grindelwald, and everyone knows it."

He attacks him. Over and over again.

(When is expelled, he smiles. He feels no regret. It was worth it. Before he leaves, he carves his mark above the entrance. No one will ever be able to erase it.)

* * *

Having discovered that his Great-Aunt lives in the same village the last of the brothers died in, he asks his mother to send him there. His mother frets, but finally agrees to let him go.

(As she embraces him, her tears staining his shoulder, Gellert Knows he will not see her again.)

* * *

When he arrives at Godric's Hollow, he is unimpressed. The place is very ordinary, and not at all like a place in which one would think to find a Hallow. He resigns himself to boredom until he finds what he is looking for.

He stands by the window, looking over the little cottages and the roads neatly lined with fences, as his Aunt shuffles about in the small kitchen. He is wondering where to start his search when a flash of auburn catches his eye. He leans closer against the glass to see better.

His breath catches. It's the boy from his dreams.

In a flash, he bursts into the kitchen and startles his aunt.

"Tante, are there any boys around my age living here?"

* * *

(His name is Albus; Albus that means White. He is extraordinary. He is a genius. His skin is fair, and his bearing is noble.

_Edelweiß_.)

* * *

Nervous, for the first time in a long time, he tells Albus about his visions. About death and skies poisoned by deadly fumes. About dead forests and bodies stripped of their flesh. He tells him how afraid he is. How terrified. Albus listens solemnly and without interruption. When he stops, Albus reaches out and takes hold of his hand.

"I believe you. We will stop it, I swear."

Gellert closes his eyes as a tear traces down his cheek.

"Thank you", he whispers.

* * *

Gellert slips the blood pendant on his breast pocket, caressing it. Albus looks at him from where he is laying on the pile of hay, his smile fond.

"Do you ever have visions of anything pleasant?" he asks, seemingly out of nowhere. He blushes as Gellert raises his eyebrow at him. "It's just that I have been wondering for a while."

Gellert smiles, "I've dreamed of this."

"This?" Albus smirks, gesturing to his naked body.

Gellert rolls his eyes and sits down next to him. He picks up strands of stray hay from Albus' hair and transfigures them into a single _Edelweiß_.

"Of you," he says, and hands him the flower.

Albus blushes and kisses him.

* * *

_People think that I'm mad._

_And are you, Miss Ariana?_

_No. I think they are the mad ones._

Laughter. _Oh, I agree._

* * *

 (When Ariana dies, he runs. This is something he hadn't Seen.)

* * *

He starts looking for a way to share his visions. If people don't believe him, he will make them. It takes him years, but he finally manages it. As the smoke spreads across the room and displays his vision for the world to see, he laughs.

Finally.

Now no one can accuse him of being mad.

* * *

_(I'm not one of Grindelwald's fanatics._

Inside, he seethes.)

* * *

He relishes the horrified gasps of his audience as the vision fills the room. Now they have finally Seen. And they will spread his Word until everyone will.

(As the Legimens joins his circle, her Muggle lover's words still echo in both of their ears.

Just for a moment, he feels pity.)

* * *

Only afterwards does he notice that the blood pact is gone. He trashes his castle in his search for it. He even returns to Paris and risks capture to go and look for it. He cannot find it.

Anywhere.

It was his last remaining connection to Albus. His safety net. And now it's gone.

He screams.

(It's the week after when he sees Albus' picture on a newspaper, a familiar chain peeking from beneath his collar. The windows blow out in a rain of glass. _Scamander._ )

* * *

He stands in the cliffs surrounding Nurmengard, breathing in the clean Austrian air. The air shifts and he opens his eyes.

"I know you are there, my dear," he says, still facing the open air.

"I've come to ask you to stop."

Now, he turns, raising his eyebrow, "To stop? And why would I do that?"

Albus stands a few feet away from him, his face drawn. He looks pale and thin - like a small gust could blow him over. He reminds Gellert of an _Edelweiß_ more than ever. Fragile-looking, but strong as the mountains they grow on.

Gellert knows better than to underestimate him.

"If you don't, I have to stop you," Albus answers, his voice desperate, "Please, Gellert, I do not wish to fight you."

Gellert drops his face to the ground, considering his words.

"Have you destroyed it yet?" he asks.

Albus looks away, lowering his eyes. "No," he whispers.

"Whyever not?" Gellert asks, even though he knows the answer. He climbs down the cliff path and stands in front of him.

Slowly, he raises his hands.

Albus' eyes flutter shut when his hands cup Albus' face. Stroking his cheek with his thumb, Gellert whispers, "You could still come back to me."

Tears glittering in his eyes, Albus shakes his head, "No, Gellert, I cannot. There has been too much death."

"You yourself told me that some force would be necessary."

Albus wrestles from his grasp, shouting, "This is not 'necessary force', Gellert! It's madness!"

_The boy is mad - You are a lunatic Grindelwald - People think that I'm mad - I'm not one of Grindelwald's fanatics -It's madness!_

_Madness._

His hands drop back to his sides.

"Leave," Gellert spats. He takes a step back as Albus moves closer to him.

"Gellert, please. I don't want to fight you," Albus pleads, his voice choked from holding back tears.

Gellert turns away from him, his nails painfully digging into his palms.

"It's a pity that we don't always get what we want," he says, his voice spiteful, "Go, before I make you fight me here and now."

Behind him, Albus lets out a wounded noise. For a moment, the only sound is the wind whistling through the valleys below. Then Albus sighs and walks back to the spot he Apparated from.

"You have made your choice. And I have made mine," Albus states and disappears as abruptly as he had appeared.

Gellert stays there, facing the falls, for a long time afterwards.

As a stray tear escapes down his cheek, he wipes it aggressively away and turns to leave. As he does so, he spots an _Edelweiß_ growing in the ground.

Picking up, he considers it. He swipes his thumb through the petals before scoffing and throwing it off the cliff.

Dreams, after all, were meant for fools.

* * *

_Albus?_

_Yes, Gellert?_

_Do you think that I'm mad?_

_No. Never._

**Author's Note:**

> Edelweiss is the national flower of Austria that grows on the mountains. Its name is a compound of two German words, edel (noble) and weiß (white). To some people giving it to your lover symbolises deep love and devotion. It can also signify adventure, notoriety or great sacrifice. It only comes in one colour, white. White usually symbolises clarity, innocence and purity. However, Edelweiss flowers rest high up on the mountains and are everything but weak or gentle which are the usual associations with the colour white. (Can you tell that I'm a nerd for flower language yet?)
> 
> I chose the flower because of its patriotic connotations, which I feel is something that Gellert would like, and it's contradictory meanings. And since Albus' name means white, I thought it was pretty perfect.
> 
> Anyway, thank you for reading! Please leave a comment if you liked it
> 
> My tumblr: [bloodtroth](https://bloodtroth.tumblr.com/)


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